Mothers and Daughters
by lulamae-golightly
Summary: AU in which Emily didn't die and Scully was able to adopt her. As Scully gets to know her new daughter, she tries to understand her while Mulder becomes a father figure to her.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright, I think I'm going to start up a multichapter fic again. I've been super unconfident about my writing lately but I thought I'd put this out here. I've been reading the few Emily stories here lately and I love them; the Emily storyline, though heartbreaking, was well done in my opinion. I myself like happy endings, though, so I decided to write an AU where Emily lived and Scully was able to adopt her :). Please let me know what you think and if I should continue.**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

"Mama, Mulder's my daddy, right?" Emily asked. She was playing with her toys on the living room floor as Scully sat in a recliner, doing some work on her laptop as she kept an eye on her four year old.

The question left her hesitant. "Um...yes, he is."

"But the daddy always lives with the mommy, and Mulder only comes over sometimes," the little girl was looking at her mother now.

"Well, yes, that's true, but we're not married."

Her brows furrowed. "So how is he my daddy?"

Scully realized she had dug herself in a deep hole and rubbed her temples, about to continue when Emily interrupted. "At daycare, Collin's parents are dee-versed. Are you and Mulder dee-versed?"

"Divorced, baby. It's call divorced."

"What's that mean?"

"It happens when two people who are married don't get along, and don't love each other like they used to, so they decide to split up." she explained.

"Are you and Mulder divorced?"

Scully shook her head. "He is my best friend, that's it, Em."

Emily continued to frown. "You love him, right?"

Her mother chewed her lip. "Yes, I do."

"He loves you, too?"

"He loves me like you love your friends. You know your friend Violet at daycare?"

"Yeh."

"Do you love her?"

"Yeah."

"That's how Mulder loves me."

"Okay, mama." the girl continued to play with her toys. She had an assortment of cars and trucks to ponies and dolls. Though she had friends at daycare, she much preferred being alone, which worried Scully a bit. She wanted her daughter to have lots of friends, but she knew she couldn't force her child to do anything. She was lucky enough to even have a child, especially Emily. "Can I ask 'nother question?"

"Of course, baby."

"You don't love Mulder in a way that you wanna kiss and hug him, right?"

"Don't worry about it, Emily."

"I know. But I want Mulder to be my daddy for real. Why can't he live with us?"

Scully set down her laptop and brought her daughter into her lap, rocking back and forth. "Lots of reasons. Don't worry about this."

"I won't, mama." the little girl laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

"I love you," Scully kissed Emily's fair hair.

Soon, the girl and her mother were fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Somehow, Emily always knew when Mulder was at the door. When he knocked, she perked up in her seat. When Scully opened the door for him Emily jumped out of her seat, abandoning her dinner and ran to hug him. Mulder laughed and picked her up. "Hi, Em."<p>

"Am I coming home with you tonight?"

"I actually just came over to ask your mom if you could." he looked at Scully with hopeful eyes.

"She can if she finishes her dinner."

"Okay!" Emily tried to wriggle out of Mulder's arms. He chuckled again and sat her down. She ate her dinner with vigor.

"I'll get her overnight bag." Scully said. Mulder followed her to the nursery.

"It's still weird, your new apartment. I'm not used to it." Mulder had helped Scully get a new, two-bedroom apartment shortly after Emily came home with her. She still felt the need to pay him back for it, but he insisted that she didn't need to.

"Thank you for taking her," she said softly. "Don't give her too much candy. She's got the biggest sweet-tooth."

"I won't," he promised, though she knew he wouldn't keep it. It must have been evident in her face that she didn't believe him, because he added, "Really, I promise. I can't get her to sleep when she eats too much sugar."

Scully laughed. "She loves you so much, you know that? She asked last night if you were her dad."

_Am I? _Mulder wondered, but he was reluctant to ask. He simply smiled. "I'm always happy to take her."

Scully smiled. "Thank you, Mulder. I can't say it enough."

He embraced her, kissing her forehead. "Thank _you_, Scully." As they held each other, Scully thought about her daughter's words the previous night, about her loving him in the way a married woman loves her spouse. A part of her did ache to wake up next to him and to have him be Emily's real father. She knew their work and the very nature of their relationship made that impractical. As he let go of her, she folded Emily's pajamas and put them in her overnight bag, added a toothbrush and some clothes for the next day, and her favorite teddy bear, which she had named Sweetheart.

"Don't let her take too many toys," Scully added.

"She has some at my house anyway." Mulder replied.

"What's it like, when she comes over to your house?"

"Well, we usually watch a movie or something or I play or draw with her," he said, "And when she's sleepy I let her sleep in my bed, and I sleep on the couch." Emily had many stories about Mulder's water bed.

"I'm glad she's not so shy anymore." Scully mused. They heard Emily's tiny footsteps down the hall and Emily wrapped her arms around Mulder's legs.

"I finished dinner, can I go with Mulder now?"

"Yes, Em. He's ready to go, are you?" the girl nodded. Mulder picked her up and slung her bag over his shoulder.

"Okay, kiddo, let's go."

"Wait!" Emily exclaimed. "Let me give mama a kiss," she leaned over and kissed Scully's cheek. The moment was beautiful; Scully's smile made Mulder tear up a bit. He wanted to live a life like this. Him, Scully, and Emily—a family. He hoped he could one day bring the topic up to Scully, perhaps at a time when life wasn't so hectic, when they didn't have to drop Emily off at Maggie Scully's house when they went on a case.

They said goodbye to Scully and Mulder, bouncing Emily on his hip, made his way to his car, sticking her in the carseat. It was a funny thing, having a carseat permanently in his car. It made people think he had a kid. After his little conversation with Scully, he supposed Emily was his kid in a way.

He was so glad that Emily was more talkative, if a still a little introverted. When she first came into Scully's life, she barely talked for days on end, which worried Scully, though the child psychiatrists assured her it was normal, especially for her age. But as the months passed, Emily became more chatty and liked to ask questions.

"Mulder?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I didn't eat dessert so I could have dessert at your house, is that okay?"

He chuckled. "That's okay."

"'Cause mama's desserts aren't really good. Her ice cream doesn't taste like your ice cream."

"I think her ice cream tastes funny, too. But don't tell her, 'kay?"

Emily nodded. "Do you love mama, Mulder?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "Why?"

"Because last night she told me she loved you, but she loved you because you were her best friend. It was kinda confusing."

"We love each other in a special way, Em. It's not exactly like how a mom and dad love each other, but it's not like how you love your best friend. One day you'll understand."

The girl rested her head on the window. "I hope so."

When they got to Mulder's house, Emily changed into her pajamas and Mulder gave her some strawberry ice cream. She watched _Toy Story_ while Mulder cleaned up a bit. "I have something for you, Em."

She simply looked up curiously. Mulder presented them with a gift Scully had gotten him at a giftshop from a hotel they had stopped at on a case. It was a stuffed alien. "Your mama gave this to me once, and I want you to have it."

Emily smiled and took the stuffed creature. "Thank you, Mulder." she hugged it close to her. "Now I have him _and _Sweetheart." she sat each stuffed toy on either side of her. They watched the movie together until Emily was visibly drowsy.

"Come on, it's time for bed." Mulder said, picking the girl up as her toys hung in her hands. She made a little whining noise in protest, but she was too tired to add anything to it. He tucked her into his water bed, making sure she was warm and comfortable, her stuffed animals close to her. "G'night, Emily." he said.

"Night night, Mulder." she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for Mr. Alien."

"You're welcome."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Mulder sat back down on the couch, so happy. Emily had never said that before, and he saw the way she looked at him; she looked at him like a daughter looks at her father. The phone rang, and he was snapped from his fatherly bliss. "Mulder."

"Mulder, it's me," Scully said, "Did Emily wanna say goodnight?"

"Just put her to bed, actually."

"Oh, okay. How was everything tonight?"

"She was very good. I gave her a little ice cream and she was pretty tired so I put her to bed."

Scully sighed. "No troubles?"

"Nope. She told me she loved me just before she went to sleep."

Scully's heart melted. "Oh. She's never said that to you before, has she?"

"No, never before. I knew, I just...it was incredible hearing it from her."

"She's always loved you, I think even if I did...find someone, it wouldn't be the same for her. They wouldn't be you."

The selfish part of Mulder _really_ didn't want Scully to ever find someone else. "Do you think you'll ever find someone?"

"Mulder...I don't think so. Honestly, I can't imagine myself with anyone. I barely trust anyone but you, and you're my best friend in the world. And after everything with Emily...it'll always be you." she let him interpret it on his own.

"Oh, Scully," he breathed. He was so in love with her, dumbstruck by her words.

"It's getting late, Mulder, can I talk to you tomorrow?"

"That's fine. Goodnight, Scully."

"Goodnight, Mulder."

A click signaled that she had hung up. It was another night of sleeping on the couch, admitting to himself he wished Scully was sleeping next to him.

**A/N: Thank you for reading. :) -Lulamae**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Happy this story is getting such a positive response already :) Thanks for the reviews!**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

The next morning, Emily woke Mulder up by tugging on his blanket. "Breakfast?" she asked.

"Gimme a sec," he fumbled getting up, yawning.

"Sorry I woke you up," she said, "My tumbly was rumbly."

Mulder chuckled at her expression and made his way to the kitchen. "I can try to make some pancakes, or...we could go to McDonald's."

"McDonald's!" Emily exclaimed, bouncing on her toes.

"Alright, get dressed. And don't tell your mom about this." he said.

The girl ran to her room, but paused for a moment and turned to Mulder again. "We keep a lot of secrets from mama."

"Little ones. Don't worry," he winked. The blonde girl giggled and bounced back into Mulder's room to change. When she returned, she was practically dragging Mulder out the door. He chuckled to himself; Emily had him wrapped around her finger and she was starting to realize it.

In the car, Emily declared, "I think you should live with me and mama."

"Why?"

"So I wouldn't have to go to your house and miss mama, and you wouldn't have to go away and make me miss you. You already see her every day at work. You can just come home with us every day now."

"Well, where would I sleep?"

"On the couch. Or with mama. Sometimes I do, when I have nightmares. She's got a big bed."

He smiled. "But is it a waterbed?"

"I wish it was! Sometimes mama looks sad, I think if you were with us she wouldn't be so sad."

"You're very chatty today, Em."

He saw the child shrug in the rear-view mirror. "I was thinking."

"When?"

"When I was waiting for you to wake up. You snore."

"I do not _snore!_"

"Do too."

"Hey, kid, I'm buying you McDonald's, but that could change real fast," he teased as they pulled in. They ordered and settled down in a booth.

"Do you have to go to work tomorrow?" Emily asked, with a mouthful of hashbrowns.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth," Mulder scolded. "Yes, me and your mom have work tomorrow, and you go to daycare." the girl frowned. "Don't you like daycare?" She shrugged. "I thought you had friends there."

"I have some friends, but it's hard to talk to people. I don't know what to say."

Mulder frowned. He knew what that was like; he was always a bit shy when he was a child, even as a teenager he had a hard time socializing, though that had less to do with shyness and more to do with Samantha and depression. "They'll like you. Just sit down and ask if you can play with them. Can you do that?"

The girl nodded hesitantly. "I can try."

"Good."

* * *

><p>When they got back to Scully's house, she was still in her pajamas, her hair tied up and a cup of coffee in her hand. "Thank you for taking her," she told Mulder, yawning.<p>

"You got to sleep in today, didn't you?"

She chuckled. "A little." Emily had made her way to the living room and was playing with her stuffed toys. "Did you give her that alien?"

"Yeah. Someone I like a lot gave it to me once." he winked.

Scully smiled. "I can tell she loves it."

Mulder grinned. "I'm glad she does.

"You spoil her."

"I can't help it. I want to."

The way Scully was smiling at him—gratefully and sincerely and beautifully, made him want to kiss her. "I sound like a broken record, but you're a blessing, Mulder."

"Don't thank me Scully. I love being with Emily. I don't consider it a chore."

Scully just smiled lovingly and ran her fingers through his hair. "Want some breakfast?"

"We had some at my house."

"Really?" she asked. "Emily? What did you have for breakfast?"

The girl looked up from her toys. "Um, pancakes and hashbrowns."

Scully quirked up an eyebrow. "I didn't know you could makes hashbrowns."

"McDonald's can." Emily blurted out, and Mulder glared at her. She slapped her hands over her mouth."Oops."

Scully sighed. "McDonald's? Really?"

"C'mon Scully, we felt like something different."

The redhead shook her head. "You two. I don't know what to do with you." Scully didn't feel like sending him home, back to his empty apartment. That made it seem like a custody drop off of some sort. She wanted them to spend time together, as a family. "Why don't you stay for awhile?"

"I'd love to," he grinned.

* * *

><p>Sunday had been a nice day for the three of them, but Monday it was back to work for Mulder and Scully, and daycare for Emily. Scully dropped her daughter off, then made her way to work, getting some coffee for her and Mulder on the way. "Thanks, Scully," Mulder said when she passed him the hot coffee. "Skinner wanted to see you as soon as possible."<p>

"What about?"

He shrugged. "Alright then," she sighed. "I'll be back soon."

While she was gone, Mulder thought about her and Emily. He had noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and he knew she hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. It worried him, but then again, he went nuts whenever she so much as bumped her head. She came back into the room with tentative steps and a furrowed brow.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

She sat down across from him at his desk. "I think they're relocating me." she said directly.

"Relocating? What do you mean?"  
>"I might not be your partner anymore."<p>

"What? How?"

Scully took a deep breath before beginning. "Skinner thinks that being with you on the x-files is too inconvenient now that Emily is apart of my life. I've come into work many times late because of her, and he knows I don't like zipping around the states for weeks on end. They're thinking of letting me teach again."

"So was this your decision or Skinner's?"

"Skinner proposed it, and I agreed with him. It's hard to manage this and a young daughter at the same time; maybe a little change could be good."

Mulder wanted to blurt out how she couldn't leave, but really, she _was_ right; this would definitely be more convenient for her. "Y'know," Scully sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Emily has nightmares; she had some last night and couldn't get back to bed, neither of us could. I need to stay here with her. But-" she placed her hand on his. "I don't wanna leave you."

"Don't worry, Scully, I can still see Emily, we can still see each other. Us not being partners anymore doesn't change that. I worked alone for many years before you came along, and I can do it again."

She squeezed his hand. "You're not alone. I know you'll continue to do great work on the x-files. I just can't be with you for now." they smiled sadly at each other.

"When do you start teaching?"

"We have yet to decide that, but it'll be soon." she replied.

"Is Emily okay? I thought she hadn't had a nightmare for a few months."

Scully nodded. "I thought her nightmares would die down after she'd lived with me for awhile, but they come in bursts; she doesn't have them for awhile, then all of them happen at once."

"What are they about?"

"I don't know, honestly. She won't tell me."

"Do you think it could have anything to do with her past? Her family, the medical problems she had?"

Scully pursed her lips. "I've definitely wondered about that. All I can do is just be there for her and be her mom."

"And you're an amazing mom." he said. She smiled, looking down. Mulder realized she wasn't told that enough.

"Thank you," she replied. "That means a lot."

* * *

><p>Scully was very quickly given a new position at the FBI academy, teaching again. Mulder was once again alone on the x-files, assigned more cases and traveling more. He himself liked 'zipping around the states for weeks on end'; his mind was so often so full of pressing thoughts, thoughts that if he dwelled on too long, he would break down. And his work took his mind off those thoughts. Pouring himself over a case made him feel comfortably numb.<p>

As the weeks passed, and he was gone for longer, Emily crawled up to sit by her mother on the couch. "I miss Mulder," she murmured.

"Oh," Scully frowned. "Silly girl, he'll be home soon."

"I know," the girl replied, "Where is he anyway?"

"On a case in another state." Scully liked to tell stories about her and Mulder's previous cases to her daughter. They were always exciting to Emily, even if Scully watered them down a little.

"Is the case scary?"

"I don't know, he'll have to tell you when he gets back."

"Did you ever go on any scary cases?"

The mother nodded. "Oh, yes. They were very scary."

Emily considered this, nodding slowly. "I don't think I wanna be an agent." she declared. Her mother chuckled.

"You can be whatever you what, baby." she promised. Her daughter nestled herself further into her side and fell under one of her silent spells again. Scully simply held her daughter, trying to understand her. Trying to be a good mother.

**A/N: Thank you for reading :) -Lulamae**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Sorry this chapter took awhile, it's been a long and busy week.**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

A few days later, Emily woke up in the early hours of the morning, fussy and fever-ridden. Luckily it was a weekend, so Scully had the day off. She was looking forward to a day of sleep and relaxation, however, so being awoken at 5 in the morning by her daughter's crying made her want to groan. She knew it wasn't Emily's fault that she was sick; she probably got a virus from some kid at daycare.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a soothing voice, crawling into bed with Emily.

"It hurts," she squirmed.

"What hurts?"

"My tummy, and my head, and my throat." she whined with a little sob.

"Shh," Scully kissed Emily's burning forehead. "It's okay, you've just got a touch of the fever. Try and go back to sleep, I'll get you some medicine." she tucked her in and returned with some syrupy fever relief medicine. Emily reluctantly sipped it, made a face, and tried to go back to bed. Scully took a shower and prepared for her tiring day.

The phone rang around eight. "Hey, Scully," it was Mulder.

"Hi. What do you want?"

"Whoa, G-woman, way to be direct. I was just wondering what you were doing today."

"Taking care of Em. She's got a fever."

"Oh, do you need me to come over and help?"

"No, Mulder, I can take care of my daughter."

"I just thought you'd want some help, I know she can be a little fussy, and-"

"I'm a medical doctor, I know what to do. Don't worry about it."

"I want to take care of her, Scully, isn't that what a good dad does?"

There was silence on the other end. "Scully?"

"I-I, um...you're right, Mulder. You can come over if you would like."

"Alright. See you soon."

"Bye."

_That's what a good dad does._ Those words were so sudden, Scully had felt as if she was hit by a truck. Of course Mulder was a father figure to Emily. He wanted to take care of her; he had grown attached to her. But he had never told Scully outright that he considered himself a father to her. She supposed it had always been that way, since Emily became legally her child; she had told Emily that Mulder was her father in fact. She wondered if, eventually, Emily would begin to call Mulder "dad".

Mulder showed up with coffee. "Oh, God, thank you." Scully thanked him. "She's trying to sleep, you can come in and see her." He followed her into Emily's room, where she was tossing and turning. Scully slipped out to make some oatmeal.

"Hey, sweetheart," Mulder crouched down beside her bed. "How are you doing?"

The little girl groaned a little. "I'm sick."

"I know, that's no fun," he placed a hand on her cheek. "What are you feeling like right now?"

"My tummy hurts," she whined, "And my throat is scratchy."

"Your mom's making something to eat for you."

The girl scowled. "I don't wanna eat."

"I know it's hard to eat with a sore tummy," he replied. "But it'll help you. Can you promise to eat a little for me?"

Emily nodded and yawned. "Good girl," Mulder smoothed a hand over her forehead. Scully showed up with some oatmeal. Mulder helped her sit up in bed and her mother fed her spoonfuls of oatmeal, which she just nibbled.

"Wow, she's really sick," Scully mumbled to herself. "Em? You want a cool bath?" Her feverish daughter nodded. "Okay, eat a little more and you can take a bath."

Mulder sat back and watched as Scully took care of her daughter. "Mulder? I'm about to give her a bath, would you mind changing her sheets? The new ones are in the bottom shelf." He was bad at making beds; he didn't even have one of his own, and if he did, he probably wouldn't make it every morning. What was the point? You were just going to crawl into it again at night. But he obeyed Scully's wishes and put the new sheets on Emily's bed, if a bit sloppily. When he checked the time, it was already almost ten._ Time flies fast when you've got a sick kid, I guess._

When Emily got out of the bath, she didn't want to go back to bed, she wanted to lie on the couch. She was fussy and squirmy and didn't say anything except whining noises and sobs. "She's not usually like this," Scully sighed as she settled Emily on the couch and went to the kitchen to get more coffee.

"Don't worry, Scully, she's a kid. She's sick. Every kid gets a little fussy when they're sick."

"Thanks for helping me. I didn't realize I needed help, honestly."

She never realized that she needed help; she was used to and wanted to do it all on her own all the time. It was one thing that irritated Mulder. He wanted to help her, but she viewed asking for help as a weakness. "I'm always here to help." he promised.

"You're so good with her, Mulder, I don't know where you learned this," she shook her head.

He simply shrugged. "I'll go check on her." Emily was sulking on the couch, holding Mr. Alien in her lap. She was watching some animated movie about dancing penguins. "What's wrong, Em?"

"I hate being sick. I never wanna be sick again."

He chuckled to himself; Emily was going to grow up to become a stubborn girl. Just like her mother. "You're gonna be fine." he wiped the angry tears from her cheeks. He began to braid her hair, a skill he learned clumsily from Samantha. "You want me to braid your hair?" he asked.

"Mmm-hmm," the girl replied, suddenly sitting very still. "Why do you know how to braid hair? You're a boy."

"My little sister taught me. I used to, when my parents didn't get along and she'd hide in my room." It was something that always comforted Samantha, and something about it comforted Mulder at that age, hiding in his room with his sister as his parents screamed and threw things.

"What's her name?"

_What's. What is. Not what was. _"Samantha." he replied.

"How old is she?"

He did some quick math. "She's...I think she's twenty seven now."_ Oh. Samantha is all grown up now. _

"She's oooold," Emily said.

"Hey, your mom is," he lowered his voice, "Thirty." The child giggled.

"Do you see your sister a lot?"

"No, I haven't seen her in a long time," he felt a lump rising in his throat.

"Oh." Emily was suddenly somber; she had noticed the tone of his voice. "Do you miss her?"

He finished the braid and searched for a hairtie. He found one in between the cushions and tied her hair into a braided ponytail. "Yeah. Yeah, I miss her."

"Don't worry," Emily sweetly patted his knee. "You'll see her again one day."

"Yeah. I will."

Mulder found Scully reading, sitting at the kitchen table. "She's dozing off." he said. "I let her sleep."

"That's good." the child's mother murmured.

"Something on your mind?" he sat next to her.

"Just...every day, I think. Wow. This child is my daughter. She's a miracle. She's shouldn't even be alive, you know that? She could be dead. And I went through so much—_we_ went through so much to finally get her. And here she is. With us." she shook her head. "Every day it amazes me, and she's been with me for months and months. It'll still amaze me when she's grown up."

"We did go through a lot," he thought of rushing around the hospital, Scully fighting for guardianship rights, the adoption stage. It went on for months. The nights that Emily now spent at Mulder's hadn't even been planned, there was no custody or anything of the sort; Emily simply adored Mulder, and Mulder simply adored Emily. Scully was so happy to see that her best friend and the most important person in her life was present in the life of her daughter.

Now it was dawning on fall; come Christmas, Emily would have been with Scully for a year. "Her birthday is soon."

"November." she nodded. They heard Emily shuffle into the kitchen in her footsie pajamas. She was always sneaking around, peeking in on conversations between Mulder and Scully. "Hi, sweet girl," Scully said, pulling her onto her lap. "Everything okay?"

"I was lonely."

Scully kissed her still burning temple. "Who braided your hair? It's pretty."

"Mulder did it." Emily replied.

"Oh, really? I wasn't aware Mulder could braid hair."

"He said his sister taught him," the girl said. Mulder smiled, but the expression was tinted with sadness. Scully reached over the table and held his hand. Emily took notice and eyed her mother with four year old suspicion. The mother simply kissed her cheek.

"Why don't you go lie on the couch? I'll be there in a sec, okay?"

"Okay," Emily agreed, shuffling away.

"I'm going to go sit with her." she gave Mulder's hand a final squeeze and left the room.

After a few minutes of thinking to himself, he peeked in the living room, finding mother and daughter snuggled up on the couch. Emily's head laid in her lap, dozing. "Want some lunch?" Scully asked.

Emily whined and didn't add on. "Does your stomach still hurt?"

"Mmm-hmm,"

"Well, we'll give you some more medicine and a little bit of food and that'll settle your stomachache. Okay?"

"Okay," Emily mumbled. Mulder helped Scully make lunch for the three of them; deli sandwiches for him and Scully, and a bowl of applesauce and toast for Emily. "Mulder?" the girl asked as she ate.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me more about your sister who taught you to braid hair,"

"She liked—likes, to draw, and when she was little, she adored animals. I used to tease her a lot," he smiled.

"Where does she live?"

A pause hung in the air, and Scully was about to tell Emily not to ask questions that were so personal, but Mulder gently laid a hand on her arm. 'It's okay', he mouthed. "I don't know. I told you I haven't seen her in awhile."

"I hope I can meet her one day. She sounds nice. Would she like me?"

"Em, I think she would love you."

The smile that Emily gave him reminded him of her mother's smile—beautiful.

Emily ate the rest of her lunch, then requested to sleep in her mother's bed. Scully said yes, and her daughter escaped to her bedroom. Crawling under her mother's cool silk sheets was heaven. She realized she had left Mr. Alien and her teddy bear Sweetheart on the couch, but was too tired to get up and get them.

Mulder later found Emily's toys on the couch and tucked them in next to her on the big bed. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him with sleepy eyes. "Go back to sleep, sweetie," he said, tucking her covers up to her chin. "Snug as a bug in a rug." he made a funny face at her and she giggled. Her laugh was one of Mulder's favorite things; it was, at first, not heard often, but as time went by he had heard it more. It brought joy into Scully's previously quiet house.

"Em asleep?" Scully asked, flipping the TV onto the news as Mulder emerged from the bedroom.

"Yup. Out like a light." he flopped down next to her. "I'm a little tired myself, honestly."

"I understand. I get easily tired." his partner (or, former partner) sighed. He felt her lean into him. "Parenting is the most tiring job of all."

"But it's worth it, isn't it?"

Scully's eyes had the twinkle that always appeared when she was talking about her daughter. "Yes. It's the best thing to happen to me." she shook her head.

"Do you miss the x-files?"

She nodded. "Yes. I mean, there are a few things that I don't miss, and a few things I'm glad I don't have to stress out about. I think I mostly miss you."

He smiled warmly. "Scully...of all the things to miss, you miss me?"

"Yes, of course I do. I worry about you when you're on cases."

"I miss you, too, Scully, but I'm glad you're safe where you are. The x-files are dangerous, you know that."

She smirked. "Mulder, you worry when I scrape my knee." His only response was a sheepish shrug. They continued to watch the news, not really paying attention. When he glanced at Scully, she was on the brink of sleep. He drew her closer and let her fall asleep on him.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! -Lulamae**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here is a quick update for you all :) Thanks for the reviews!**

Emily awoke about an hour later and made her way to the living room, where her mother was still asleep in Mulder's arms. "Hi, Mulder," she rubbed her eyes.

"Hi, Em."

"Are you and mama snuggling?"

He laughed softly. "Maybe. She's very tired."

"I know. I'm hungry."

"Me, too. What do you want to eat?"

Emily pursed her lips together, making a very hard decision for a four-year-old. "Peanut butter and jelly!" she exclaimed.

"Okay. I'll make you some." he gently unwrapped himself from Scully and placed a blanket over her. She didn't even stir, only make a slight moan. Mulder placed a gentle kiss to her cheek. The mother was exhausted; he just wanted her to be able to rest for awhile. "Want to help me make dinner?"

"Yeah!" Emily grinned.

"You're feeling better, aren't you?"

She nodded. "I still feel a little cold and stuffy."

"You'll feel better in the morning. Can you show me where your mama keeps the bread?"

Emily pulled the bread out from a breadbasket. Mulder showed her how to spread the peanut butter and jelly. They made three sandwiches; one for Mulder, one for Emily, and one for Scully, when she woke up. Somehow, in the way four-year-olds always find a way to, the girl got the spreads on her pajamas. "Oh no," she cried.

"It's okay, we'll just put it in the wash right away. Does your mom have any chips?"

Emily pulled out a bag of vegetable chips. Mulder tried not to roll his eyes. "Okay, thank you."

It turned out, the veggie chips, though a weird green color, were good. As Emily and Mulder ate their dinner, with tall glasses of (almond) milk. "Mulder, do I look like my mama?"

"Of course you do, why?"

"I just think about it sometimes...I always hear other kids say they look like their mama or their dad." Emily shrugged.

Mulder looked at the child and decided she did. She had the same beautiful blue eyes, the same smile. "Yes. You look like your mom." Though Emily's father was mysterious, anyone could see her resemblance to her biological mother, Scully.

"Do I look like my daddy? My old daddy, the one I used to have?"

"I don't know, Emily. I didn't know him." Mulder briefly wondered if Emily knew the things her father had done, but she was so young. He hoped she _didn't _know. She was in a better place now; that was what mattered.

It was obvious that Mulder's response wasn't what Emily wanted to hear, but she nodded. They heard Scully pad into the kitchen. When she saw her daughter covered in peanut butter and jelly, Mulder could see a sigh beginning, but he gave her a look that said, 'hey, give us a break'. "You two got into the peanut butter and jelly, huh?" she asked.

"We made you one," Mulder smiled. Scully shook her head, but sat down next to them and ate the dinner they had prepared for her.

"Do you like it?" Emily asked.

"It's wonderful, baby," Scully said, wiping peanut butter from her daughter's cheek. "Feeling better?"

"Mmm-hmm." Emily nodded. They ate the rest of their dinner in happy silence. Emily wished to herself that it could always be like this: Mulder and her mom snuggling on the couch, eating dinner together, Mulder teasing her and telling her jokes. It made her so happy.

"Em, why don't we get you in another bath? You've got peanut butter all over you."

"Okay," Emily agreed, already trotting off to the bathroom.

"I better look after her before she floods the whole house or something," Scully laughed.

From what Mulder heard, the bath was peaceful, aside from a bit of fussing when Scully had to take out Emily's braid to wash her hair. He realized he probably had to go home soon. Not that he wanted to, but he was afraid he had overstayed his welcome, now that Emily was feeling better.

"Mulder," Scully called from the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Emily wants you to say goodnight to her."

He said goodnight, receiving a kiss on the cheek. "Will you braid my hair again sometime? Mama had to take it out."

"Of course I will. Sweet dreams."

"Okay. Goodnight, Mulder."

"Night, Em."

* * *

><p>When the child was <em>finally<em> in bed for the night, Mulder said his goodbyes. "I should probably stop bothering you now. Thanks for letting me come over."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't bother me?" she asked. She didn't sound annoyed. Her voice was soft and caring. "I know for the next couple days all Emily will talk about is you, and how you can braid hair and how you have a sister and how much she loves you."

Mulder smiled. "She's such a great girl. I just hope her little flu bug wasn't contagious, huh?"

Scully cringed. "God, I hope not. If I get sick, you and Em will have to take care of me."

"You know we would." he embraced her. "I'll see you, Scully." he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Sure you're okay? You're starting to feel a little warm..."

"Mulder!" she exclaimed, playfully swatting him. "Go home. Feed your fish."

He smiled, and was out the door. "Mama?" she heard from Emily's bedroom. She sighed.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Can you just come sit with me for awhile?"

_Oh._ "Of course." she laid down next to her daughter. "Why'd you want me to?"

"I dunno. Maybe I'll sleep better."

"Yeah, but when you get bigger, you'll have to sleep on your own."

"Will I still have nightscares then?"

Scully tried not to laugh at 'nightscares'. "Night_mares_, baby. I hope they go away, but you don't know when they'll happen, right? So I don't know when they won't."

"I hope they stop soon," Emily declared.

"Can you tell me what you see in the nightmares?" Scully had asked her daughter about this before, but she had shut down and refused to answer. She didn't answer for a moment, and Scully was afraid that was going to be the case again, but her daughter timidly spoke up. "I see my other mama."

"Your other one?"

"The one I had before you. My daddy killed her."

"I know he did."

"I saw him do it. I was little, but I remember. He had a gun."

Scully held her daughter closer. "Is that what you see at night?"

"Yeah. I see it over and over sometimes. Sometimes I see it, but you're my mama and Mulder's my dad." her voice cracked.

Scully's stomach felt like it was falling stories. "Emily, I want you to know that me and Mulder will never, ever, _ever_ hurt you or each other like that. We love you more than anything. Your dreams are scary, but they're not real. When you wake up, I'll be here. Do you understand?"

Her daughter nodded. "I don't want to have them anymore." her voice cracked.

"I know. It's not your fault that you have them. It's not your fault that happened to you."

Emily burrowed herself further into her mother's chest. "I see it sometimes during the day, too. I think about it."

Scully nodded, feeling like she was understanding her daughter more and more. "What do you do, when you start thinking about it?"

"I wanna hide in a corner and cry."

"Oh, Em..." her mother sighed, unable to add anything. "Why didn't you tell me, baby?"

"I was scared to."

"Why were you scared?"

"I don't know, I just thought you would be mad."

The redhead was holding in her tears. "Emily. I never want you to be scared of me, ever."

"I'm not. I promise I'm not. I just thought you wouldn't be happy that I thought about my old mama, because you're my mama now."

"I will never be angry about that." Scully assured her. "I will always keep you safe."

Emily yawned. "Mama, I'm tired. But I don't want to go to sleep. I don't wanna have any nightmares."

"You won't. Just sleep. I will be here all night."

Scully held her daughter close to her and comforted her, silent tears falling from her eyes as she thought of everything that had happened to her daughter. She wished Emily had brought it up earlier. She wished they didn't have to have sleepless nights, wished her daughter didn't want to hide in the corner because of memories that still flashed in her mind. "Mama, sing the bullfrog song."

Scully was too tired to even sigh at the request. She simply began to sing softly until her daughter was lulled to sleep.

"Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me," she warbled the last notes, holding her daughter and never wanting to let go.

**A/N: Sorry for the angst towards the end there. Thanks for reading! -Lulamae**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hope everyone's enjoying the story so far!**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

Scully watched her daughter build a tower of lego's while the child therapist asked her questions. She was a tall, broad woman named Melanie with dark hair and eyes that were always smiling and a soft voice. After her daughter's confession about her nightmares, she felt it would be best to have her talk to a professional, after a lot of prodding from her mother. The woman really helped Emily and played with her on the floor, always on her level. She found it so funny that Emily had a stuffed alien ("You don't see a lot of stuffed alines!"), whom she brought everywhere. Emily told her not just about her nightmares, but about the little things in her life, about Mulder.

After this particular meeting, Melanie approached Scully and told her, "She's doing very well. She says she doesn't have too many bad dreams."

The mother was relieved to hear that. "That's good to hear."

"May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"What's your relation to this Mulder that Emily talks about so much? Is he your boyfriend?"

Scully chuckled. "Um. It's a bit complicated. I used to work as a Special Agent for the FBI. He was my partner, and we became friends. When I adopted Emily, he was there every step of the way, so he's very present in her life now."

"So there's no romantic feelings between you two."

"It's a nice idea, I suppose," she awkwardly brushed her hair away from her face. "But I don't think it's going to happen. I'm just happy to have him in our life."

"Emily is, too," the therapist smiled. "She talks about him incessantly. 'Mulder gave me this toy, Mulder is in Texas for his job, Mulder's birthday is soon...'"

"Yeah. She does love him."

"She's doing a lot better. I'm glad you chose to have me see her."

"Thanks, Melanie. Em! Let's go."

Emily reluctantly got off the floor, abandoning all the therapist's fun toys, Mr. Alien in tow. She held her mother's hand as they left the therapist's office. "Will Mulder be home for his birthday?"

"He said he's gonna try to be. Should we throw him a party?"

That excited Emily. "Yes! Can we have a cake?"

"We'll have to ask Mulder."

Later that evening, Scully was grading her student's papers when her phone started ringing. She already knew who it was. "Hello?"

"Hiya, Scully, guess who's home?"

"How was Texas?"

"Oh, y'know. Hillbillies. Ghosts. Murders. The standard case file."

"I hear you're another year older in a couple days."

He smiled. "So you finally remember my birthday for once."

"Like you've been any better. Emily is convinced we should have a party for you. With cake."

"Oh, you don't need to do that for me,"

"What if we want to? What were you planning to do on your birthday?"

She could practically see him shrug as he said, "I dunno. But you still don't have to do anything big."

"I wasn't saying we were going to do anything _big._ I just thought maybe...Emily adores you, you know that. She wants to do something special for you. Just us."

"Alright, Scully, you've won me over. What day do you want me over?"

"Day after tomorrow?"

"Sure. Can't wait to see what you and Em come up with."

* * *

><p>Emily's face turned a little red as she used all the breath in her tiny body to blow up a balloon. "You want me to do that, baby?" Scully asked. Her daughter took her mouth off the balloon and it flew away from her and across the room. She pouted.<p>

Scully held in her giggles at her daughter's misfortune. Someone buzzed her doorbell and she opened the door for the three Lone Gunmen. "Hey, Scully, long time no see," Langly grinned. "You miss the FBI?"

"I still work for the FBI, I just teach now."

Emily was suddenly intimidated by all the new people. "Who's this beauty?" Frohike asked.

"Em? Is something wrong?" The girl shook her head. "She's a little shy," Scully whispered. "C'mere, honey."

The four-year-old cautiously meandered to her mom. "This is my daughter, Emily."

"Ohhh, _you're_ the Emily we've heard so much about." Byers said.

"What? From who?"

"Mulder, of course." they said, practically in unison.

Scully smiled. "These are Mulder's friends. Why don't you say hi?"

Emily timidly raised a hand. "Nice to meet you..."

"Nice to meet you, too," Langly shook her tiny hand. "You can call me Uncle Langly."

"Are you all my uncles?"  
>Frohike laughed. "Sure, kid."<p>

Emily looked up at her mom. "Really?"

Her mother nodded. "Wanna help me frost the cake?"

"Yeah!"

Mother and daughter frosted the cake while the three men bickered about something. "What's wrong with them?" Emily asked. "What are they arguing about?"

Scully shook her head. "They're very silly."

"I think they're funny."

"Me, too."

Mulder showed up about an hour later. "Hey! You didn't tell me you invited them, too!"

"It felt like a given," Scully said.

"Mama! We don't have enough candles! We don't have thirty!"

"Hey! I'm not thirty!" Mulder exclaimed.

"Em, let's not use thirty candles, we'll burn the house down," Scully made her way into the kitchen before any chaos broke loose.

"Sweet girl," Byers commented. "You can just tell she's Scully's."

Mulder smiled. "Yeah."

"Shy, though. Has she always been like that?" Langly asked.

"No. She's shy until she gets to know you. Then she won't stop talking. But I like it."

"Is that why Scully quit working with you, because of her daughter?" Frohike asked.

"Yeah. I guess. It would've been better for her and Em if she stayed in one place."

"Do you ever take care of Emily?" Langly asked.

"Yeah. She's a wonderful kid. Of course I'm gonna help take care of her."

"Aww. Daddy Mulder," Langly joked.

Before his friends could tease him any more, Scully and Emily brought the cake out, singing 'Happy Birthday'. Emily crawled into his lap and helped him blow out the candles. "Did you make a wish, Mulder?" she asked.

"Yup."

"What was it?"

"Em, if you say what you wished for, it won't come true," Scully said with a wink.

"I hope it comes true," Emily whispered.

"Me, too." he smiled.

Scully helped cut the cake and passed out the pieces to the guests. "We made it with green frosting, because aliens are green," Emily grinned. In reality, green was the only frosting they had, but it _did_ work, especially for Mulder's birthday.

"Actually," Mulder began.

"Mulder." Scully warned him, not wanting him to go on a long, boring tangent about the skin color of aliens.

"I helped frost it," Emily grinned.

"She actually helped _eat_ it, but if you wanna say that you can, Emily." Scully teased.

"I thought I saw something there," Mulder poked her cheek and she giggled.

When Scully passed Langly a piece, he asked, "You're all a little family, aren't you?"  
>"I suppose we are."<p>

When the cake had been eaten, the gifts were brought out. "Oh, Scully, you didn't have to get me anything..."

"Yes, we did. Shh." she replied. He opened his gifts from his friends, and they were all thoughtful and sweet, aside from the issue of Celebrity Skin that Frohike gave him. Scully glared at him. "I have a _child_ in my home."

"I know." Frohike grinned.

Scully rolled her eyes, and the magazine, and stuck it back into the bag. "Save it for home, Mulder."

* * *

><p>Aside from that, everything went smoothly. The best gift he received was a handmade card from Emily, with crayon illustrations. After the Lone Gunmen left, Mulder told Scully, "Thank you," he looked happier than Scully had seen him in awhile. "I can't remember the last time I had a birthday party." she realized then that no one had cared enough to throw him a party.<p>

"How could you not have a birthday party?" Emily asked. "They're fun!"

"I know. When's your birthday, Em?" he asked, even though he knew.

"November 15th." she said proudly.

"Em, it's getting late, you can watch a little TV and then it's time for bed." Scully interrupted. Emily pouted and her mother gave her a warning look. "Don't start that with me, missy. Why don't you help Mulder pick out a movie to watch."

"Okay!" Mulder and Emily rifled through Scully's movie collection.

"You have _Back to the Future?_" Mulder asked. "All three of them?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I didn't expect you to be a _Back to the Future _type person, honestly. Em, have you seen this movie?"

"No,"

"C'mon, you gotta show your kid _Back to the Future._" he looked at Scully hopefully. "And it's my birthday."

"Sure. I love that movie."

They all got comfortable on the couch and watched the movie, Emily's head on the arm of the couch, watching the movie with great interest.

Mulder ended up watching Scully more than the movie. Her legs were tucked under her, a look of fond nostalgia on her face. "My brothers and I saw this movie in the theatres. Twice," she chuckled. "I always think of them when I watch it."

He loved that she still giggled at the jokes, even the really corny ones. About halfway through the movie, they glanced over at Emily and found she was asleep. Scully paused the movie and put her daughter to bed, then came back to join Mulder on the couch. "You wanna watch the rest of the movie?"

"Sure." he replied.

"Em had so much fun today," Scully said after a few minutes of silence. "She was running around the house all day, so excited for your little party."

"Y'know, no one did that for me, even when I was a kid, my birthday was just another day. You two made it special. And I couldn't ask for better than you and Emily."

His last statement made Scully's chest flutter. "Neither could we." she replied. He drew her into his arms and they watched the rest of the movie like that, curled up together.

When he left, she placed a kiss on his cheek, not the friendly kind that she often gave, but a kiss that lingered, a kiss that thanked him.

"Where's Mulder now?" Emily asked a few weeks later, when the excitement of parties had faded and life was back to daycare and mama's grading papers and Mulder being gone on cases.

"Nevada," Scully replied absentmindedly.

"Where's that?"

"Um, close to...that one...state," she was searching through her papers, feeling incredibly disorganized.

"What're you doin'?"

"Grading tests."

"For your students?"

"Yes."

"Will I have tests?"

"_Yes,_ Emily."

"Why do you have to take tests?"

"Emily!" Scully exclaimed, a little louder than she should've. "Can you go find something to do?"

"I haven't seen you all day..."

"You can see me all day tomorrow, and the next day and the next day. I need to work now."

"Okay," Emily shuffled away like a scared puppy. A few minutes later, Scully felt bad for yelling at her daughter. She was naturally curious, as all four-year-olds were. She made a mental note to apologize to her daughter, after she finished her work. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the shrill ring of the phone. "Hello?"  
>"Scully," it was Skinner, of all people.<p>

"Um, yes?"

"I just thought I should let you know Mulder's in the hospital."

Scully gasped. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine, just a little beat up. I was wondering if you wanted to see him."

"Yes, I probably should." It had been a while since Mulder had ended up in the hospital. "I'll be there in a little while." she hung up, then yelled for Emily.

"Yes?"

"I need to go see someone in the hospital. Do you wanna stay with Grandma?"

"Can't I go with you?"

"No, baby, you have daycare tomorrow and it would be too late. Also, hospitals aren't really that fun."

"Who's there?"

"Mulder."

Emily suddenly became distressed. "What! I have to see Mulder in the hospital!"

"He's okay. I just need to see him."

"I do, too," the girl pouted.

"Em, you can go see your Grandma for the night _or_ we can stay here and not see Mulder at all."

She sighed. "Okay."

"I'm sorry for getting angry at you, Em."

"It's okay," Emily shrugged on her coat. "You were doing work."

"I know. But you'll _always _mean more to me than my work."

She smiled sweetly. "That's good."

After Scully dropped Emily off at her grandma's, she rushed to the hospital. Skinner was there. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. He's awake. He's been asking where you are. Follow me," she followed Skinner into Mulder's hospital room. "I just can't keep you two apart, you know that?"

Scully smiled. "Good."

Mulder was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, a purple color circling is eye. "Hi, Mulder," she said softly.

"Scully, you came," he replied, obviously a little drugged up. "You look so pretty..."

She chuckled. "Emily says hi."

"Oh, good. I say hi back..."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah..."

"What happened?"

"I was on a ship, in 1939...I got stuck in the Bermuda Triangle. And you were there, and you believed me. You were so smart, just like you are now..."

_Oh, he _is _drugged._ "That's nice, Mulder, but I think you need some sleep."

"No, Scully, really. You were there. You were so beautiful."

Scully smiled at how endearing the situation was. "Thank you. Now click your heels together and say, 'there's no place like home'. And go to sleep." she joked.

"I'll try." Scully started to leave to talk to Skinner, but he stopped her. "Wait, Scully, one more thing."

"Yes?"  
>He paused. "I love you," his voice was gentle and his eyes were full of adoration. Her breath hitched in her throat.<p>

"Oh, brother," she sighed and walked off, worried that she would say too much if she stayed longer. _He doesn't mean it, he's drugged,_ she told herself, unable to decide if she wanted to believe herself or not.

Mulder frowned, though he knew she wouldn't believe him. He touched the black eye that was starting to form, thinking of the girl who had given him it.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the Triangle reference at the end, it's my favorite episode :) Thanks for reading! -Lulamae**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I hope no one will mind my inclusion of Monica Reyes as Mulder's new partner. I think it will add a nice little element to the story and I love Monica, so I hope people will enjoy this sappy chapter :)**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

After the Bermuda triangle fiasco, Skinner decided it was time to assign Mulder a new partner. His work was piling up and he needed a partner to keep him in check. Monica Reyes had worked in the New Orleans field office, but she was called upon to work on the X-Files unit with Mulder.

"I've heard a lot about you," she said when she first met him, gazing around his office.

"That's what most people seem to say." he shrugged.

"I hear you lost your partner?"

"I didn't lose her, she just had a kid...you understand."

Monica nodded. "Yeah, I understand." she leaned back in her chair.

"Do you have any kids?"

She chuckled. "Nah. I guess I'm one of those 'married to my work' people. I have two cats, though. What about you?"

"I am also married to my work. I mean..." he paused, then shook his head.

The dark-haired woman smiled. "Go on. Is there anyone? A significant other of sorts?"

"Not in the widely understood definition of that term."

"Hmm. One of _those_ relationships." Monica grinned. "I warn you I'm a bit nosy. I like to know everything about everything."

He smiled. "You won't know everything when you work on the X-Files, but it is an educational experience I guess."

"I've heard a lot about it. Aliens, ghosts..."

"Do you believe, Agent Reyes?"

She chuckled. "Let's just say I don't not believe. Your previous partner, did they?"

"She did not, and she was very stubborn and firm in her beliefs, but she stuck with me through everything." He sighed.

"What happened to her?" she asked quickly. "Oh, sorry, there's my nosy side."

Mulder shook his head. "It's fine. She had a daughter—adopted her, actually—and just wasn't able to work as a Special Agent _and_ take care of her."

"Aww. Do you still see her?"

"Yeah," he pulled a tack out of one of the pictures on his wall and handed it to Monica. "That's her and her daughter."

"Beautiful girls," Monica said. "I'm glad you still have her."

"Me, too," he agreed.

* * *

><p>Mulder and Reyes were on their first case in Pennsylvania on Emily's birthday. It made the girl sad, but the cupcakes she had gotten at daycare made up for it a little. Later that night, she was playing with the new toys her mother had gotten her when her mother approached her with the phone. "You've got a phone call, birthday girl."<p>

Emily eagerly seized the phone; she had never gotten a phone call before. "Hello?"  
>"Hi, Emily."<p>

"Mulder!"

"I just wanted to say happy birthday. I promise I'll be back in a few days."

She smiled. "Okay. I wish you could've been here today."

"Me, too, sweetheart. I bet you had a good day, though."

"Uh-huh. I had strawberry cupcakes and mama gave me a stuffed dog and two dresses which I hate."

Mulder laughed. "I'm sure they aren't that bad. I will see you soon, okay? Be good."

"I will. I love you."

"Love you, too, Em. Happy birthday."

* * *

><p>Mulder hung up the phone after his little chat with Emily, on a car journey with Reyes.<p>

"I didn't know you were so close to her daughter," Monica said, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Yeah. She's a pretty special kid."

"You talk to her like a dad."

Oh, God, that word again. Dad. "I'm not technically her dad. Not biologically, or even legally. But Scully says I'm like a father to her. And I want to be like a father to her."

"That's really sweet."

"Thanks. I try," he joked, thinking that before Scully had come into his life, no one would've dared call him sweet.

* * *

><p>Mulder kept his promise to both girls: Monica and Emily, and that weekend he came to see the Scullys. He immediately received an embrace from Emily. "Hey!" he exclaimed.<p>

Instead of her usual, enthusiastic greeting, Emily pointed to Reyes and asked, "Who's that?"

"Emily!" Scully scolded. Reyes, who had a good sense of humor, just grinned.

"Ah, don't blame her. I would wonder if a random lady showed up at my house, too. I'm Monica Reyes. Mulder's partner."

Scully shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Dana Scully, Mulder's-"

"You're his former partner. I've heard a bit about you and your daughter."

"Oh, I hope he hasn't caused you too much trouble."

"Hey!" Mulder exclaimed, having already made his way to her living room, where him and Emily were on the floor. She was showing him all her birthday presents. "I'm not _that _hard to deal with."

"If that's what you want to think," Scully replied. Mulder just scoffed.

The redhead sighed. "Come in," she said to Monica. "Do you like tea?"

"Love it." Monica said. Scully poured them two cups.

"So how do you like being a Special Agent, Monica?" she asked, sitting down at the table with the other woman.

"It's definitely intense! But I like it." she replied.

"No kidding." Scully smirked. "Definitely a hard job. It takes a lot of courage and dedication. I applaud you for it."

Reyes blushed. "Thank you. I've heard you were quite an amazing Agent yourself."

"Oh, I did my best. Not amazing, but...I definitely put all my effort into it. Then my daughter came along." Scully couldn't help but miss the Bureau at times, but she would give up anything for Emily.

"She's adorable. I can tell you love her. It's in your eyes, the way you look when you talk about her."

"You notice things like that?"

"Oh yeah. I'm very...connected to the more spiritual side of people and the universe. I notice little things, I like to think."

Scully thought of her sister, always noticing those little things, talking about the forces of the universe pulling her toward something. She suddenly missed Melissa. "You remind me of my sister."

Monica remembered Mulder's words and nodded. "Is she into that stuff too?"

"Mm-hm. Was."

"Oh," her happy expression fell. "Was?"

"She died about three years ago."

"I'm so sorry. I have lots of brothers and sisters; I can't imagine losing one."

Scully pursed her lips, avoiding eye contact. "It's alright. I think the pain has faded away, but then something comes up, something that reminds me of her or an old photo, and it's like I've just lost her all over again. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you all this."

"Nah, don't be sorry. Sometimes you just need to talk. I have a feeling you don't have many people to talk to that often."

"I don't. I talk to my daughter—a lot, but there just are just some things-"

"I understand. You can talk to me." Monica assured her, patting her hand. Her cell phone buzzed and she had to answer it. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Family thing. Let's meet up sometime, okay?"

"Keep Mulder sane for me, will you?" Scully asked.

Monica laughed. "I think you're the only one who does that, Scully. See ya." Once the door closed, Scully joined her daughter and Mulder in the living room.

As she watched Mulder and Emily play, she thought of what Monica had said, about her being the only one who could keep him sane. She could think of a few times where Mulder kept her on the ground, as well. "Mulder?" she asked, distracting him from his observations of Emily coloring.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it's weird that we're kind of each other's only friends?"

He shrugged with a small smile. "Maybe. But has anything about us ever been normal?

"Good point. No, I guess it hasn't."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Scully."

"Mulder! Should I color the dinosaur purple or pink?" Emily asked, tugging on his jacket. Scully laughed. She wouldn't have it any other way, either.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! :)**

**-Lulamae**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: A bit of sap. This story will be wrapping up soon.**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

_December 26__th__, 1997_

_"Am I going home with you?" little Emily asked, her face still a little pale, a little sickly. Still shy and quiet. "Now that I'm better?"_

_"You have to stay for one more day," Scully explained. "To make sure you're all better. Then you're going to come with me."_

_"Okay." she smiled bashfully. "That sounds fun. What about the man who makes funny faces?"_

_"Mulder is his name. Yes, he'll come with us too."_

_"Good. I like him."_

_Scully smiled. "Me, too."_

_"Can I..." Emily trailed off._

_"What is it? You can tell me."_

_"Can I call you my mama?"_

_Tears sprung into Scully's eyes. "Yes. Of-of course you can." She sat down next to her soon to be daughter in the hospital bed. "Go to sleep; we can have some dinner when you wake up and Mulder will bring presents."_

_"Stay right next to me." she requested. Scully laid down and Emily snuggled a little closer, falling asleep quickly. Scully had to hold herself back from crying tears of joy into the little girl's hair._

* * *

><p>December 26th, 1998<p>

"How was your Christmas, Em?" Mulder asked over a morning cup of coffee with Scully and a sleepy Emily.

"Good. We went to grandma's and saw Uncle Bill and Auntie Tara and Uncle Charlie. Who did you see?"

"I just celebrated Christmas by myself."

Emily frowned. "That's not right. You should be with your family during Christmas."

"Me and my family just don't get along, sweetheart." Mulder explained.

The young girl pursed her lips in thought. "We'll be your new family then." she decided.

Mulder smiled. "That's a good idea. What did you get for Christmas?"

"Lots of things! I can't tell you everything I got because mama said it's bragging." Scully sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. "What?"

Mulder held back a chuckle. "Nothing. You're a hundred percent right; it's not good to brag." He took a long sip of coffee, looking at Scully, who was simply smiling at the scene. "Hey Em. Do you know what happened today a year ago?" she simply looked at him with curiosity. "Your mom adopted you."

Emily grinned at Scully. "Really?"  
>"Yes. You got better and I was able to have you. And a little while later, you came home with me." Scully said.<p>

"Wow. A year is a long time. Can I go play with my toys now? I ate my waffles."

"Sure, baby." the girl hopped out of her chair and went to play. "A year isn't a long time when you're a mother," Scully mused to herself. Mulder interlaced his fingers with hers. "It feels like just a few weeks ago...I still wish she was a little more social, but she really is happy. She still adores you—you practically hang the moon to her. I guess I couldn't ask for more."

_I love you._ The words were forming on his mouth but he couldn't say them. He remembered her reaction from last time; it was understandable, but he would be lying if he said it didn't hurt. He only kissed her hand and hoped that could convey everything he was feeling. "I promise I'll never leave either of you. Not if I can help it."

"Thank you." Scully replied, smiling, glints of tears in her eyes.

The spirit of Christmas died down, but New Year's Eve was almost as exciting to Emily, if only because she could stay up until midnight. Her mother let her drink a small amount of sparkling apple juice in a "fancy" plastic cup. She danced to the music of the performers until she got tired and climbed onto the couch with her mother and Mulder. It was about an hour until midnight when she starting dozing.

"You wanna go to sleep?" Scully asked.

"No!" she exclaimed groggily. "I have to stay up til midnight!"

"Okay," she replied, amused at her daughter's determination.

"What do you do when the ball drops?" she asked.

"You kiss the person you love the most." Scully explained.

"Why?"

"I don't...actually know why, come to think of it."

"To have a good start to the new year," Mulder said.

"But kissing is yucky." Emily replied.

Mulder grinned. "When you get to be older, it's a lot of fun." Emily just made a face.

The little girl eventually fell asleep about thirty minutes to midnight, but her mother woke her up five minutes until the ball dropped. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes. But we still have five minutes 'til New Year's."

"Oh, yay!" she said. "Can I have more fizzy apple juice?"

"Sure," Scully got off the couch and poured two flutes of champagne for Mulder and her, and some sparkling apple juice in a fancy plastic cup for Emily.

"What's that?" Emily asked when she sipped some champagne.

"Fancy adult juice," Mulder said. Scully laughed—he was, more or less right. At one minute to midnight, Emily stood on the couch and counted down with everyone else.

"Three...two...one, happy New Year!" Emily jumped up and down on the couch, then turned to find her mother and Mulder kissing. When they pulled apart, Scully kissed her daughter's cheek. "Happy New Year, honey." she said. "It's time for bed." Emily wanted to protest, but as soon as her mom picked her up, she could've fallen asleep in her arms. "You're getting heavy." she teased.

"Am I gonna be tall and big?"

"One day you will be." she tucked her daughter in. "Did you have fun?"

She nodded. "Why did you and Mulder kiss?"

"It's just what you do on New Year's."

"Is he your boyfriend then?"

Scully sighed. "It's time for bed, Emily. Goodnight."

"Okay. I love you, mama."

"Love you too," she gave her daughter a goodnight kiss. The girl fell asleep quickly. When Scully came back to the living room, Mulder himself was yawning. "Tired?" she asked.

"A little," he replied; she could tell it was more than a little. "Thank you for having me over."

"Anytime, Mulder. When's your next case?"

"Day after tomorrow. I'm going to Washington with Reyes. Something about a satanic ritualistic murder, which is what Monica used to specialize in."

"Sounds intense." Scully found herself yawning as well. "God. We're all exhausted, aren't we? Do you have enough energy to drive home?"

"Oh, I'll be fine."

"Don't stay up too late, please. I know you keep yourself up. You worry me." she placed her hands on his face.

"I'm fine, Scully, I promise."

She shook her head. "No, you're not."

He sighed. "No, I'm not, you're right." he admitted. "I just...can't seem to keep myself down. I'm all over the place all the time, but it keeps my mind off things."

"Just keep yourself safe. Get some sleep." _I love you, _she thought, hoping her words conveyed her silent message.

"You, too. Take care of Em. Don't beat yourself up over little things. I'm always thinking of you two." _I love you_, his words were silently saying. "I'll see you soon, Scully."

"See you." they kissed, chastely, but there was definitely something there, something that had always been there. He wondered briefly if the champagne brought this on, but he knew this was going to happen eventually—they would come to terms with their feelings. There was still more to be said and done, but they would discuss that when he came back from the case. She hoped he would be safe and that he would return soon.

* * *

><p>The next week, Mulder was in the hospital, still in Washington State. He had been caught in a car accident with Monica on a case, but he was far more injured than she. She had to explain to her daughter that Mulder would be staying in Washington for awhile, that he was hurt. "Is he gonna die?"<p>

"Oh, God, no." Scully said. "No, he's just hurt. The metal from the car jammed into his side very deep and it damaged some parts of his body. He could've died, but God decided it wasn't his time yet, I guess."

"Can we call him?"

"Not right now, baby. He's in the hospital and he needs rest. Soon, he'll be back to us and we can help take care of him." she knew her daughter loved to play doctor and take care of others; she would be all over Mulder when he came back.

"Mama, I'm worried about Mulder." she admitted.

"Me, too. He'll be okay, it's just gonna take awhile."

"I wish he didn't have to be stupid and crash his car."

Scully couldn't help laughing, thinking she should've corrected her daughter, but she had thought the same thing (_Why is he so stupid sometimes?!)_ about the man she loved so many times.

**A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating as frequently, I've been going through a really rough time lately. Thanks for reading.**

**-Lulamae**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Please forgive all the mushiness in this chapter. I can't help myself.**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

When Mulder came back from Washington State, the first place he stopped was Scully's house. "You are staying here, no arguments, Mulder." she said.

"Okay, mom," he smiled, too tired to argue. "Skinner gave me a week's vacation. He was practically pushing me out the door. I'm fine, though. I don't know what it is with you two." he tried to conceal a yawn.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're exhausted, I can tell you're still sore, and you need to rest. If you don't rest, you'll overwork yourself and you'll end up in the hospital again."

"Mulder!" Emily interrupted their conversation, running to hug him. He stumbled back at the force of her hug, chuckling.

"Hey, kiddo," he tried to lift her up, but he found himself to fatigued to, so instead he leaned down and received his hug on her level.

"Careful, Em, he's still hurting."

"Did you get hurt real bad?" she asked.

"Real bad. Lots of blood."

The girl made a face. "Are you better now? Mama said we're gonna take care of you."

"Yes, you're gonna take care of me for awhile. I need rest, according to her."

"I think she's right. You need to get better." Emily decided. He looked up at Scully with a smile.

"Stubborn like her mother." he said.

* * *

><p>Mulder was braiding Emily's hair the next morning after spending the night at Scully's. His assumptions were right, Scully and Emily were insistent on making him rest. Though Scully had invited him to share her bed, he took the couch.<p>

"Guess where I'm going today?" Emily asked.

"Where?"

"The dentist! It's my first time going and they're gonna poke around in my mouth."

"Ha. It's not so bad. You'll have nice shiny teeth, and they give you free toothpaste."

"I know. I'm still nervous though."

"Emily! Are you ready to go?"

Mulder tied the braid and she hopped off the couch. "I am! Thanks Mulder."

"We'll be gone for a few hours, Mulder. Don't try anything." Scully said.  
>"You've barely let me off the couch. What do you think I'm gonna do? Clean a little?"<p>

"Hmm, actually. Please do." she joked. "See you."

When Emily came back, she proudly presented a plastic bag with a pink toothbrush, toothpaste, and a tiny alien figure. "They let me pick something out a toy box and I got this for you."

"Thank you so much," he said, inspecting the purple alien.

"I know aliens aren't really purple, but that's what they had."

"It's the thought that counts." he replied.

Scully was looking around the house. "Mulder, did you actually clean around here?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You didn't have to do that!"

He shrugged. "I felt like it."

"Oh, well, thank you so much. You should try it around your house and office sometime, too."

"Goddammit woman, can't I make you happy?" he joked.

She smiled. "You make me very happy, actually."

"How was Em's dentist visit?"

"She doesn't like people poking around in her mouth," Scully sighed. "It took awhile, but we got her to sit down and cooperate. I feel like I should have prepared her more."

"All little kids are like that. Don't beat yourself up over it, Scully," he assured her.

"Mulder! It's for you. It's Uncle Langly!" Emily presented Mulder with the phone, which her mother had been teaching her to use lately.

"Thank you, Em," he received the phone and excused himself. "Hey." he said to Langly.

"Hey! What are you doing on Valentine's Day?"

He shrugged. "Same thing I always do—spend it alone. Why?"

"C'mon," Langly scoffed. "You gotta take Scully out."

"I guess I could," he replied, "I mean, I want to, but..."

"Just ask her. You know she'll say yes."

He hesitated. "Yeah, but she has other stuff to do; she's got a daughter."

"We can watch the brat for a little while," Langly replied, "You've got a few days 'til Valentine's Day. Just ask."

"She's not a brat," Mulder corrected him. "I guess I'll try."

"You better. Let us know."

"What did Langly have to say?" Scully asked when he returned.

"Just updating me on some things," Mulder sat down at the table with her. She closed her laptop. "Can I ask you something, Scully?"

"Yes, of course."

"What are you doing two days from now?"

"Ooh, that's Tuesday...so I have work, but I get off early that day because I don't have a Tuesday afternoon class. Oh, and that's Valentine's Day, so I'll probably just get some chocolate and watch a movie. Nothing special. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out." he said.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Mulder had never asked her on a proper date; she supposed dating wasn't important to them, but the idea sounded nice. "Yes, that would be nice. I'm not sure what to do with Emily though."

"The Gunmen will watch her. They love her."

"Oh, well, then, I guess I can say yes, I will go on a date with you."

He grinned. "You don't know how happy you just made me, Scully."

* * *

><p>On Valentine's day, Mulder dressed carefully in a dress shirt and slacks. After a few days with Scully and Emily, he had to go home, though Scully offered to let him stay longer. "I'm fine now, I promise."<p>

"I know, but Em likes having you around. Maybe I like having you around." she shrugged.

He grinned. "Have you forgotten that you have a very important date tonight, Scully?"

"No, I certainly haven't. Actually, get out of here, I need to get ready for that." she said.

"See you, Scully," he said, thanking her with a hug.

While Mulder got ready himself, Scully had pulled on a dress and was done with one eye's makeup when the doorbell rang. "Em, baby, will you ask who it is?" Sculy called from her bathroom.

"Okay! Who is it?" Emily asked, her ear pressed up to the door. "It's Uncle Langly and Frohike and Byers, mama!"

"Let them in, then," Scully said, coming out of the bathroom. "Hi, you guys," she greeted them.

"Looking good, Scully," Frohike looked her up and down. She tried desperately to roll her eyes. "Mulder's gonna cream his shorts."

She glared at him. "Careful what you say." Luckily Emily hadn't been listening, she was looking at a book Byers had brought her.

"Okay, mama, you can leave now." she said, happy to spend the evening with her wacky 'uncles'. "Her and Mulder are going on a date," she explained to Byers.

"I know!" he replied.

"What do people even do on dates?" Scully heard her ask as she went back in the bathroom to get ready.

"You'll see when you're older," he explained.

"That's what everyone says." Emily sighed. Scully giggled to herself. She finished off her makeup and took a look in the mirror. She wore a red dress that she had bought on an impulse a few months ago, wondering if she'd ever wear it. It seemed fitting for Valentine's Day. The doorbell rang again and she slipped some shoes on, grabbed her purse, and opened the door to see Mulder smiling brightly, like a schoolboy going out with the girl of his dreams.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi. You look nice."

"Thank you." she said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Bye, Em. Be good," she called.

"I will." her daughter stepped into the room to hug her. "You look so pretty, mama."

Scully smiled warmly. "Thank you, baby. Be good. Don't go to bed too late."

"Okay. Bye-bye," she waved. Scully took Mulder's hand and they walked out to his car. He opened the door for her. "Thank you, Mulder." she said. "What did you have planned for tonight?"

"It's a surprise," he smiled.

"Okay, then." she chuckled. "Feeling better?"

"A little. The bandages are a bit hard to manage, but I've got it down."

"Well, if you ever need anything-"

"Just ask you. I know. You're a medical doctor." he teased. They continued their car journey in silence, passing the city and traveling into the woods.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see." he said.

_A surprise, indeed,_ she thought. When they finally stopped, it was at the top of a hill. There was a view of the city below them, and above them, millions of stars. It was a beautiful, clear night. Mulder laid a blanket down and a picnic basket, along with a few candles that were battery powered. "I know it's not candlelight and roses, but..."

"Oh, no it's not, but it's perfect, Mulder." she breathed, sitting down on the blanket.

"I've always wanted to just watch the stars with you. I thought about the traditional Valentine's date, but we're not really traditional." he passed her a sandwich, made on french bread. He poured some red wine to go with it. "Sorry, I know it's nothing fancy."

She took a large bite and was surprised; it was very good. "No, Mulder. It's delicious."

After the sandwiches was a salad with all sorts of ingredients including sunflower seeds. "Forgive me, Mulder, but I never expected you to touch a vegetable." she joked.

"Neither did I. The things are pretty good, though," he said.

Then after the salad came some chocolate that they shared, both unashamedly devouring the sweets. "Mmm, oh, God, Mulder, those sandwiches were huge and the salad was amazing and the chocolate just...oh. God, so good. But I am officially full. No more for me." she said. He smiled.

"You cold? You look like you're shivering."

She nodded, and he went back to the trunk of his car and got a fluffy blanket. "Oh, no, I only got one," he feigned surprise. "I guess we'll have to share." He poured some hot coffee from a thermos and handed her a tin cup, pouring some for himself, then he threw the blanket over her shoulders, scooting in close to her. She was happy to lean into his shoulder, making happy, contented noises, unabashedly nuzzling his neck to smell his aftershave. He laughed, pulling her face close to his to kiss her nose. She giggled—Dana Scully giggling was not something he could've imagined a few years ago.

"Mmm," she was nearly purring as they leaned back on the blanket, now staring up at the stars.

"This is nice." he sighed. "This is so nice. Do you know the constellations?"

"No, do you?"

"Yeah, I do," he pointed out all the constellations he could find, even explaining some of the stories behind them.

"That's amazing," she said. "It's beautiful."

They lay there silently for awhile. "Mulder, I didn't want a fancy dinner tonight. I just wanted to be with you. You made it special. Thank you." she leaned in and kissed him for a long time. When they pulled apart, she smiled and smoothed her hands over his face. "That was nice."

"It was. I vote for more of it." he said, and they shared another tender kiss. They stayed there, lying under the stars for a little while until Scully seemed drowsy.

"We should be getting home," she mumbled, "Emily needs to go to bed."

"Oh, okay," he sighed, helping her up. "Let's do this again sometime, huh?"

They drove home in the comfortable silence they often shared. Scully wondered if she fell in love with him during those silences, when he was driving and she was content to simply gaze at him as they drove further into the night.

* * *

><p>When they arrived home, Emily was perched atop the fridge, Byers attempting to get her down, Frohike wearing a tutu, and Langly sitting observing at all. There were teacups on the table and toys strewn everywhere. Scully was in too much of a good mood to do anything but laugh. "What's the story here?"<p>

"Well, Emily wanted a tea party," Byers began. "So we said sure, but then she decided to be a princess and rule over her subjects—us, so we said sure. That, however, involved climbing onto the counters then onto the fridge. I've been trying to get her down ever since."

"Emily Christine Scully. You get down right now." Scully scolded. Emily knew from the use of her full name that she needed to do what her mother said. Byers helped her climb down from the fridge and handed her to her mother. "Good. At least they got you in your pajamas. You ready for bed?"

She whined. "Nooo, I wanna play."

"Yes. Bedtime." Scully replied. She carried her daughter to her bed and tucked her in. "Did you have fun with your uncles?"

"Yes!"

"Good. I don't want you up on the fridge, though. You could fall and break some bones. That's not fun; you'll end up in the hospital."

Emily nodded solemnly. "Okay, mama."

"Goodnight." she kissed her forehead and pulled her covers up to her chin. She walked to the kitchen. "Thank you for watching her," she told the Gunmen. "Hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"She's never trouble," Frohike said, now sans tutu. "Excited, maybe. Trouble, no."

She smiled. "Thank you. See you soon." Then it was only her and Mulder left. He helped her clean the house. "Frohike looked great in that tutu," Scully laughed. "I'm just glad they're around to help."

"The thing is, it's not the strangest thing I've seen Frohike wear," Mulder said. "Thanks for a great night, Scully. I'll be on my way, I don't wanna bother you any longer."

"No, Mulder," she said, then hesitated. "I'm just going to wash my face, maybe we can have some tea and talk about life?"

He smiled. "Sure."

"You can change if you want...I know you've got some clothes in a drawer in my dresser."

"I do," he winked, though the reason the clothes were there was only because when they were partners, they would often work so late into the night Mulder had to sleep on her couch. "That sounds great, Scully."

While Scully washed her face and changed into pajamas, Mulder changed himself and they met on the couch. As they flicked through the channels, finally settling on some old black and white movie. When the female lead of the film asked, "Why do people have to fall in love with other people, anyway?" Mulder murmured, "I know how she feels."

"Why?" Scully asked.

He shrugged. "I've never gotten anything good out of loving anyone."

"What about my daughter? You love her, don't you?"

"I...I do love her, of course I do Scully."

"I can't think of one bad thing you've gotten out of loving her. There has to be someone else, someone you...truly cared for. Someone that, even if you're not with them today, left you with good things; at least a few good things. There has to have been that someone." Scully stammered.

"Yes. Yes, there was...there _is." _he stopped there.

"I'm tired of waiting, aren't you?" Scully asked. He smoothed her hair and drew her in closer, and the motion answered all her questions.

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**

**-Lulamae**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Emotions all over the place in this chapter.**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

_February 15__th__, 1999_

Scully was awoken the next morning by the alarm ringing and Mulder rolling over and mumbling something into her neck. "Good morning," she murmured, slapping the alarm to turn it off.

"Hi," he replied. "Do you have work today?"  
>"I only teach afternoons on Wednesdays," she groggily replied. "Do you have work?"<p>

"Yeah, I have to leave in about an hour."

Scully sighed. "Okay. You should probably get ready then. I've gotta get Em ready for daycare." She untangled herself from the bedsheets and Mulder's arms and threw on her bathrobe. She made her way to Emily's room. "Wake up, sleepyhead." she said. Emily just shifted around, though she was clearly awake. "We can have french toast for breakfast if you get up."

That got Emily's attention. "Okay!" she hopped out of bed. Scully started the french toast while Mulder got ready for work. When he came out of her room, Emily gasped. "Mulder! What are you doing here?"

"I was tired, so your mom let me sleep here last night." he explained. It was half true; all they had done the previous night was sleep.

"You should stay here all the time," she said.

"I would if I could, sweetie," he ruffled the girl's hair. "Ooh, is that French toast?.

Scully passed both Mulder and Emily a plate. "Yes, it is." she said. They ate breakfast together, and Emily had a permanent smile on her face. She loved days like this, when all of them were together. Her mother dressed her in clothes for daycare and dressed herself in a suit for work. The girl spied on Mulder and her mother, after he had told her he had to go to work. They were standing quite close, Scully's hand on the back of his neck.

"Thank you for everything, Scully," he said.

She ran her hands through his hair. "Anytime. Thank you, too." she leaned in and kissed him. Emily clapped her hands over her mouth. Scully intertwined her arms around his waist and Mulder kissed her forehead, murmuring something to her. She chuckled softly and laid her head on his chest. "I'll see you soon, Mulder. Be safe."

"You, too, Scully." one more kiss, and he was stepping out the door. Emily escaped from around the corner so her mother couldn't tell she was spying.

"Em, you ready to go?" Scully asked.

"Yeah," she grabbed her backpack in the shape of a turtle and followed her mother to the car. She, being a normal four-year-old, couldn't keep her secret in any longer. "I saw you kiss Mulder. Two times."

"Yes, we do that...sometimes," Scully said. "It's something adults who love each other do."

"You love Mulder?" Emily asked.

"Yes honey. It's a special kind of love. It's different from the way you love your friends." she explained.

Emily pursed her lips in thought. "You said that was how you loved him, though."

"I know. But you don't plan to fall in love like that."

"It's okay. I like that you love Mulder. But kissing is icky."

Scully laughed as she pulled into Emily's daycare. "It is to you now. It won't be when you're older. Be good today, I love you." she gave her daughter a kiss and watched her trot off to daycare. She drove to work, happy that her daughter was glad about her relationship with Mulder. She knew her daughter loved Mulder as a father, but she wasn't sure how Emily would feel about them being openly affectionate. She hoped this would only be something she would grow to be used to, the little kisses and the closeness on the couch at the end of the day. Something sixteen-year old her would stick her tongue out at, maybe, but something that just was there. Was a fact. Scully and Mulder. Mom and dad.

She wondered if Emily, when she grew to be sixteen, which was scarily too close, would find someone of her own, a first teenage love, full of cliches. Awkward first dates with an overabundance of flowers. The puppy love stage where she could only think and see them. Scully imagined holding her daughter as she sobbed through her first break up. She wanted to hold onto four-year-old Emily, five-year-old Emily. She already almost lost the little girl, she couldn't again.

* * *

><p><em>March 18<em>_th__, 1999_

"I want you to come work with me again." Mulder said over a nighttime cup of tea. "Monica can watch Em now. She's happy to."

Scully hesitated. Mulder had just come over, Emily just been tucked in. It was all so much to process. "C'mon, Scully," Mulder continued, "Nothing's stopping us."

"Yes, Mulder, something's stopping us."

"What?"

The redhead anxiously stirred her tea more than it needed to be stirred. "I don't want to get hurt. Maybe it's selfish, but I have a child to take care of. And I want to keep that child safe." With the knowledge that working on the X-Files brought, came danger.

Mulder nodded. "I understand. Emily will be safe."

"How do you know, Mulder. How do you know. Did you think Missy would be safe? My sister?Or your father. Do you seriously think it couldn't happen again? She almost died once."

"I know, Scully. Technically she isn't supposed to be alive now, and we're lucky to have her. We'll keep her safe, I know we will."

"Maybe she isn't supposed to be, but I'm going to keep her alive. I'm going to protect her."

"Scully, working on the X-Files isn't the only thing that could kill her. Her being a scientific experiment-"

"Emily is _not_ just a scientific experiment! Don't talk about her like that. I hope you don't see her as that."

"I don't, I'm just trying to be...realistic. I don't like to think about it either."

Scully sighed, avoiding eye contact. "I don't know, Mulder, maybe this isn't a good time to ask things like this. I have to think about it."

"I know. I-I'm sorry, Scully. I just...I miss you."

"I miss you, too. I just, this is...Emily is more important than my work any day." she was still slightly hurt about some of the things Mulder had said despite his apology. She couldn't define the feeling that was settling in her stomach.

"I know." Mulder repeated. Neither of them had anything to add. For once the silence they shared was uncomfortable.

**A/N: Augh I hate writing awkward endings. But that's the way it can be with these two sometimes. Thanks for reading! -Lulamae**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here is the next chapter!**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

_March 20, 1998_

Scully worked on her computer while Emily blew bubbles, giggling. She answered an email from Skinner and closed her laptop, sighing, watching her daughter entertain herself. She ran after the bubbles and hopping to pop them. It was adorable. Her daughter turned and blew bubbles in her mother's direction. She smiled and popped one that landed on her knee. "C'mere, baby," she motioned for her daughter to come sit in her lap. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"I might go work with Mulder again. In the FBI."

"Why?"

She stroked Emily's hair. "It's jut something I've been thinking about for a little while. It'd be me, him, and Monica, working together. Which means that sometimes, you'd need to stay with Grandma."

"Mmm...okay." Emily shrugged, not seeming to have very strong feelings about it. "Does that mean we get to see Mulder more?"

"Yes, probably," Scully replied.

"Yay!"

"But it also means I'll be gone a lot more." she explained.

Emily pouted. "I don't like it when you're gone."

"I know, but you love Grandma, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I love _you_ best."

Scully smiled, kissing her daughter's cheek. "Thank you, baby. I love you the most, too. I'll try to go on less cases so I can spend time with you."

"Good. If you want to work there, mama, you can do it. I'll let you."

She grinned. "Thanks for the permission," she replied.

"Mulder misses you." Emily continued. "He's sad that you don't work with him. You make him happy, mama."

"What makes you happy, Em?"

"When me and you and Mulder are all together because when I was with my other mama and daddy, everyone was sad all the time and it was scary, because daddy was angry." she said. "I like it when you're happy, mama."

A tear fell down Scully's cheek. "Oh, Emily," she sighed, holding her daughter close, kissing her head. "Please remember you'll always be everything to me."

"I know, mama." the little girl sighed happily. A few years ago, she hid behind a plant while her father abused her mother, and now she had a mother that held her close and told her she loved her every day. As long as things stayed that way, she was happy.

* * *

><p><em>March 27<em>_th__, 1999_

Scully came back after the first day back on the X-Files with Mulder and Monica Reyes in tow; they carpooled, and she had invited them to dinner. They had to make a stop at Maggie Scully's house beforehand to pick up Emily. "Why don't you two live together yet?" Monica asked Mulder as they waited in the car.

"I dunno. I'd like to," he said, "I should probably bring it up. We've really only been together for awhile."  
>"Yeah, together romantically, maybe," Monica replied, "But there was always something more,wasn't there?"<p>

"Yeah. There always was." he smiled at the thought.

Scully soon appeared with Emily skipping along next to her. She climbed into her carseat and said, "Hi, Tia Monica," she grinned. She had come to like Monica Reyes in the few times they had met. The woman had requested the child call her Tia Monica, _tia _meaning aunt in Spanish. After learning this, Emily had commented, "I have a lot of aunts and uncles." Both of the women had laughed.

"Hi Mulder!" she exclaimed after greeting Monica. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Mulder turned around in his seat to receive a kiss from Emily. "I know, sweet-pea. I missed you and your mom." he gave Scully a peck on the cheek.

"What'd you do at work today?" the child asked.

"Paperwork," Monica replied.

"What's that?"

"It's basically a lot of writing and signing your name, over and over." the brunette woman explained.

Emily grimaced. "Sounds boring."

"No kidding," Mulder replied.

"What did you do in daycare, Em?" Scully asked.

"Nothing. Except...Bobby said Mr. Alien was stupid and aliens weren't real and that I was a dumbface." she hugged her stuffed creature to her protectively. "I'm not a dumbface."

"No you are not, Em," Mulder assured her. "People sometimes call me mean names, too. But I don't listen to them."

"Yup, I think Mr. Alien's pretty cool," Monica said. "Bobby is a dumbface." Emily smiled.

The four of them had dinner at Scully's. Emily watched as they sat around and talked and laughed about adult things while she sat observantly on her mother's lap until she and Monica grew bored and they sat on the floor, Monica teaching the girl basic Spanish terms and telling her jokes. Despite Scully having to scold her for calling Monica a "cat lady", it was a happy evening. When Monica left, she promised the little girl to pet her cats extra that night.

"Thank you for being a good girl today," Scully said as she tucked her daughter in. "Me and Mulder will be going on a case in a couple days and we'll be gone for about four days. You're going to stay with Tia Monica. Good night."

"Okay. Look what Tia Monica taught me," Emily leaned forward and rubbed her nose against her mother's in an Eskimo kiss. Her mother laughed and returned it. "Good night, mama."

"Night, honey."

Emily lay, awake as she usually did before falling asleep, making the shadows on the wall dance, moving her hands. She heard some mumbling and stumbled out of her bed, tiptoeing to the hallway and peering into the living room. Her mom and Mulder were kissing and she was starting to take off his shirt. Something told Emily it was time for her to go to bed.

* * *

><p><em>March 30th, 1999<em>

Monica hung up the phone and placed her chin in her hands, debating on how to tell this to Emily. Scully had been kidnapped while on the case, and now it was Mulder's job to find her. Depending on how long this would take, Mulder would be in Arkansas, where the case was, for awhile. "Em," Monica called, strolling into the living room to find her petting Annabeth, one of her cats. "Emily. I need to talk to you about something."

Emily looked up with curiosity. Monica sat down on the floor next to her. "Your mom was on a case with Mulder, you understand that."

"Yeah?" Monica could already see how nervous Emily looked already.

"Your mama was taken. Kidnapped. Mulder is looking for her."

"Who took her? Who took my mama?!"

"A man they were working with, that they thought they could trust. They don't know where he took her, but we're hoping to find her soon."

"Are you still gonna watch me, or are you gonna go to Ark-and-saw, too?"

"Of course I'll still watch you." Monica assured her, comfortingly rubbing her back.

"Okay." she simply replied. Emily was clearly upset, clearly trying to process what had happened to her mother. Annabeth was purring in her lap, but Monica saw a few tears fall from Emily's hung head into the cat's fur. "I don't wanna lose my mama," she sobbed. Monica couldn't do anything but hug the child, thinking that she didn't deserve to go through this.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! -Lulamae**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Two more chapters after this one and this story is done! **

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me.**

_April 2__nd__, 1999_

Mulder tossed and turned restlessly in another hotel bed in another part of Arkansas. He had been looking for Scully for two days now. It was obviously that this was not the first time she had been taken from him. But with Emily, Mulder felt a larger need to get her back home. He could not let Emily lose her mother-if he did, he'd never forgive himself.

They were working with a local of the town in Arkansas when he went off one way by himself, and Scully went with the man. An eyewitness told Mulder she had tried to fight back, but the man was too big and too strong and was very seriously threatening her. Mulder yelled at the eyewitness at first, for not intervening, but the sheriff told him to calm down; that they could find Scully. So far, no luck.

He thought about their last interaction before she was gone-she had pulled him aside and protested going with the local, but Mulder assured her with a kiss to the forehead that it was only for awhile.

Now she was gone, and he was set on finding her more than anything else.

Monica awoke when she heard crying from the next room over. She rushed into the room to find Emily, still asleep but clearly having a nightmare, yelling nonsensical words and sobbing. Monica roused her from her sleep, gently shaking her shoulders. "Emily! Wake up."

The girl woke up, bewildered, tears still streaming down her face. "Where's my mama? Where did she go? Why can't I find her?"

"Honey, shhh," she held the child to her chest.

"Where is she? I can't find her," she sobbed. "Where's mama?"

"Your mama was kidnapped, sweetie. Mulder is looking for her, remember?"

"I want her back," she sobbed. "What if she dies?"

"It's okay, Em, it's okay. She won't die, Mulder will find her." she kissed her forehead and wiped tears from her cheeks. "It was just a dream, sweetie." _Poor girl,_ she thought, sighing as she rocked the girl back and forth. Monica murmured reassurances to her until she started to doze off. "Go back to sleep, Em, everything will be okay in the morning." She tucked the girl back into bed. "Goodnight, Emily."

"Goodnight, Tia Monica." she murmured groggily.

* * *

><p><em>April 4<em>_th__, 1999_

Mulder kicked down a door in the basement of a tiny, unkempt house. He had tracked down the kidnapper, a man named John Lester. The man had a history of kidnapping women and keeping them in his basement to do what he pleased to them. He moved around all the time, not getting caught because of his constant changing of locations. He sometimes took these women because of infatuation, or because they were pretty, sometimes it was to order them around. He got his thrills from it. It was usually one woman at a time, and when he got bored of them he threw them out of his car.

When Mulder and the sheriff found his partner in the man's basement, who the sheriff was currently holding at gunpoint, Scully was on a dirty couch, reading. At the sight of John she pushed the book away and straightened herself up, but when she saw Mulder she gasped and her eyes brightened. "You were supposed to be cleaning down here, little pet." John sneered.

"Shut up," Mulder said. She was wearing a typical housewife dress but as she ran up to Mulder, he saw the scar on her temple and the black eye starting to bloom. He held her in his arms for a long moment as the sheriff arrested the thin, lanky man. "Thank you," Mulder murmured to him, giving him a handshake of genuine gratitude.

"Any day. Now you two go and get some rest. You definitely deserve some."

"He took my gun," Scully said. "I need my gun."

"Where's the gun?" the sheriff asked the man.

"I-I...it's in...my cabinet above the sink."

"Good." they retrieved Scully's gun, which she tucked away and Mulder and her were given permission to leave.

Mulder took Scully's hand as they walked to the rental car. "Do you still have my suitcase, Mulder?"

"Yes. It's in the hotel room. I'll see if I can book a flight back to Washington tomorrow."

"Okay," Scully replied, obviously distressed as they got in the car. They drove silently for a little while until Mulder asked,

"Scully, he didn't do anything...violating to you, did he?"

"No, Mulder, he didn't rape me. But he did force me to wear 50's housewife dresses, clean, cook, and not speak. If I did, he would abuse me. I tried to escape twice, but I just...I couldn't."

He held her hand. "It's okay. It's over now. Well, until I get myself into something and you have to come save me."

She chuckled weakly. "Is my daughter okay?"

"Yes. Monica's still watching her."

"Good. God, I wanna change." she squirmed in her dress.

"We're almost there, Scully."

When they pulled up to the hotel, Mulder covered Scully with his trenchcoat. "You know what's bad, Mulder?" she asked as they walked, hand-in-hand, to their room.

"What?"

"That wasn't even the worst thing to happen to me."

Mulder, his face hard and solemn was silent and circled her waist. Once they got to their room he helped her slip out of her dress, throwing it away. "I'm going to take a bath." she said.

"Need any help?"

"I...I would like some." she admitted, almost shyly. He nodded and went to fill the bathtub with hot water. As he climbed in and helped her in with him, he noticed a few bruises on her shoulders.

"Scully," he sighed as he rubbed her shoulders gently. "Does this hurt?"

She shook her head. "No, but if you did it any harder it would." He kept that in mind when he washed her back.

"Just relax, Scully," he said when she tried to wash her hair. "I'll do it." There was no arguments. She rest her eyes and laid against him for a little while, him whispering sweet words into her ears. "We're gonna go home, and you can see Em," he promised. "We'll go home and get away from here and from this whole thing. It's over now, Scully."

When the water started to get cold, he helped her out of the bath and dressed her in one of his sweatshirts. "I can dress myself, Mulder," Scully said.

"I know." he replied, "Just let me take care of you for once."

"I don't think you know how much you take care of me on a daily basis." she said softly.

He kissed her forehead. "It's what partners do." She slipped under the covers and slept, letting all the horrors of the past day's events just drift away. Mulder was there, and she knew he would keep his promise to take her away from everything. To keep her safe, as long as she would do the same for him.

After all, it was what partners did.

* * *

><p><em>April 5<em>_th__, 1999_

They returned home quickly. Scully was worn down and everything that had happened caused a deep exhaustion to settle in her. Mulder let her sleep on the plane back home. They returned to Scully's apartment, Emily and Monica were there to greet them. But instead of running to greet her mom, Emily hid behind Monica's legs. "Hi, honey," Scully said, lowering herself to her daughter's level.

"Hi," she replied timidly. "What happened to you?"

"A man hurt me, baby," she explained. "But I'm okay now." she then rose and gave Monica a hug. "Thank you so much for watching her."

"Anytime," she hugged the redhead back. "Get better." she kissed Scully's temple scar. She left, and soon it was just the three of them.

"I'm gonna take a nap." she told Mulder.

"Okay. Get some rest." he said. She had said the same thing to him so many times. They shared a kiss and Scully went off to get some sleep. Mulder searched for some food in the fridge and found Emily tugging at his pants. "Hi, kiddo." he said. "Want something to eat?"

There was something wary in Emily's face. "Okay..." she said. Mulder handed her a bowl of strawberries; they were always her favorite. "Thank you." she said.

"You're welcome. How are you, sweet-pea?"

"Did you hit my mama?"

"What, Emily?"

"Mama said a man hurt her. She looked like..." the girl paused.

"What did she look like, Emily?"

"She looked like my mom I had before I came to my mom now. My daddy used to hit her because he was so angry all the time. She had blue circles around her eyes and cuts on her and now mama looks like that, did you do that to her, Mulder? 'Cause I don't want you to ever see mama again if you did that to her..." she rambled, nearly yelling.

"Em," Mulder interrupted her. "Don't be scared. Don't worry. Do you want to know what happened to your mother?"

"What?"

"A man kidnapped her. And he hurt her. And I looked for her and I found her and she's okay now. The man is in jail. His name was John Lester. I didn't hurt her. I'll never hurt you or your mother." he explained gently.

Emily nodded understandingly. "Sorry for yelling."

"It's okay, Emily." he opened his arms out for a hug. She jumped off the chair and received the hug. "Thank you for looking out for you mom. She loves you. I love you."

"I love you, too, dad."

He had to suppress a gasp. "What did you just call me?"

"Dad? I know you're not my real dad..."

"That's okay. You can call me that." he grinned, and the smile didn't leave his face for the rest of the day.

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**

**-Lulamae**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay! The last chapter, sort of! There will be an epilogue after this. It's a bit of a cheesy ending, but is anyone surprised?**

**The X-Files doesn't belong to me. **

_September 3__rd__, 1999_

The first summer at Scully's, and the first real summer of Emily's life, passed too quickly for all involved. She played in the sun and met friends at the park, coming home with the gravel dust and smell all over her. She was happy to find that her mother and Mulder (who she called both "dad" and his last name; Mulder didn't bother to hide the beaming expression every time he was called the former.) were home more often, but she didn't mind being with Tia Monica and her cats Annabeth and Clarice.

The girl was not so excited about the idea of school, though. When her mother described it to her, she rejected the idea at first, but Scully tried her best to assure Emily she would like it. On the first day of kindergarten, she dressed her daughter in a dress and took pictures of her with her little backpack and everything. "You're such a mom," Mulder laughed.

"Hey. Gimme a break. This is a special day. I might cry a little." she joked.

"Oh, I'll have to bring some tissues then." he teased right back, pecking Scully's cheek. "Okay, kiddo, let's go."

Emily reluctantly took his hand and they walked out to the car with Scully. "Will you pick me up, mama?"

"No, Em, I'm sorry. Tia Monica will; she gets off work earlier than me and Mulder. I promise I'll try to be home early for you."

"It's okay, mama."

"I wish I could be around more, honey..." she reached back and smoothed her daughter's hair.

"I wish you could, too." they pulled up to the school, and Scully felt tears spring into her eyes as she watched her daughter walk into the classroom and sit at a desk with her name on it. The teacher knelt down to her level and talked to her.

"Which one is your mom?" the teacher asked and Emily timidly pointed to Scully.

"Hi, I'm Dana Scully," she shook the teacher's hand. "My daughter is a little shy sometimes, and she's a little reluctant. But she'll open up."

"Most kids are," the teacher smiled. "I'm sure she'll do just fine."

Scully, having to go to work, kissed her daughter goodbye, and returned to Mulder in the car. "Did you cry?" he asked.

"I teared up a little." she admitted, rolling her eyes at him.

"Well, I've got tissues if you want one." he said playfully. He expected a laugh, but as she drove them to work, he noticed she was quiet. He knew there was something on her mind. "Scully, what's wrong?"

She sighed. "Nothing, really. I just feel like I should be more present in her life. I mean, I can't even pick her up on her first day of school."

"Scully, I bet you half those kids' parents work office jobs, and they can't pick up their kids. I bet you're more involved then half those kids' parents, because they've got five kids and they can't be bothered anymore." Scully nodded, if a bit reluctantly. "I promise. You're an amazing mother."

"You're a good father, too," she said. He was taken aback by the comment. "She calls you dad now, Mulder, and you've been her father since the first month she came home to me. She came home to us. It's how it's always been, I suppose."

"Yeah. I guess it has been." he grinned his charming grin that she couldn't help but melt at. "I always saw you as a mother, Scully, no matter what I said. I always knew you could do it. I thought I could never be a dad."

"What made you think that, Mulder?"

"Scully, have you met me?"

She chuckled. "Okay, I get it. I think Emily's made you change, in a way. Not drastically, but more..."

"Soft?" he joked. "You calling me a softie, Scully?"

"Maybe a little," she laughed. "But Emily's so happy when you're around. You're one of the biggest parts of her life."

"She's protective of you, too, you know that? Remember that time you got kidnapped back in April?"

"Yes." Scully shivered a little thinking about it.

"When you came back-and I never told you this-Emily asked me if I hurt you, because her parents before us were abusive. She was so angry at me." he said, "She would hate me forever if I hurt you."

They pulled up to the building and got out of the car. "Oh, wow," Scully said, unable to add anything.

"Yeah. She's very protective." they held hands as they walked into the building. As they walked past Skinner, he cleared his throat and they remembered they were at work. They awkwardly darted away from each other. "Excuse us, sir." Mulder said.

"We all knew anyway," he mumbled under his breath. When he was out of sight, the hallway was filled with the agent's laughter.

"Oh, God," Scully sighed after her laughing fit.

"Skinman's probably always known." he grinned, taking Scully's hand once more. They continued chuckling as they walked to their office.

When the partners arrived home, Emily ran to hug them. "Guess what?" she asked. "I made a friend named Alice and we played house except I wanted to be the mom but she wanted to be the mom so I had to be the cat and Ben said he liked aliens too and then we ate grapes and..."

"Slow down, baby," Scully said, laughing. "Let's sit down and you can tell me all about it."

"She's been talking a mile a minute for the past few hours," Monica said. "She's had a very good day. I'll let her tell you all about it." she said her goodbyes and left. Emily sat down with her mother and told her all about the first day of kindergarten.

"Guess what happened when we went out to the playground?"

"What?"

"Ben was pushing me on the swing and I went up high, but he accidentally pushed me off and I fell. But I didn't cry. I was brave."

"Did you kick Ben?" Mulder asked.

Scully swatted his arm. "I hope you didn't, Em."

"I didn't. I told him I forgave him."

"How did I get so lucky to have such a good girl?" Scully asked, kissing her daughter's forehead and standing up from the couch. "I guess it's time for dinner."

They ate dinner together, then Scully bathed her daughter and let her play for awhile until it was time for bed. She was clearly tired after her full, exciting day. They tucked her into bed and made their way to Scully's bedroom.

"She's growing up," Scully said as they flopped onto the bed. "She's in kindergarten, already. Then it'll be first grade, and second grade, and so forth..."

"I know. Pretty crazy."

"It's just...sometimes I worry. When she first came into my home, she used to cry for her mother and I didn't know how to feel about it. She used to be so quiet and I wondered if she hated me. I wondered if I even could love her, because I felt like...for the first month, that I was going through the motions, and then as time passed, at night she started to crawl into my lap and sleep, and I felt myself starting to love her so deeply. She still cried, but when I held her I cried too, I ached for her.

I was worried Emily would tear us apart, too, when I left the FBI. I worried that contact would be cut off and we would just become...acquaintances, like I have with so many people. But you stuck around and now it's like we're..."

"A family?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah." she replied with a long exhale. She curled into his chest. He kissed the top of her head.

"You're gonna have to try harder to get rid of me, you know that, right?"

She chuckled. "I know."

"I love her...and you, too much to leave. You're stuck with me forever, hopefully."

"Hopefully." she repeated.

* * *

><p><em>September 10<em>_th__, 1999_

Scully watched as her daughter and her friend Ben played outside in the park. They were playing a game of aliens. "What are they doing?" Mulder asked.

"Playing something related to aliens. That's your influence on her, you know."

"Good." Mulder teased. "I'm glad she has a friend."

"Me, too."

Ben pulled up some flowers from a nearby flowerbed. Scully cringed, but they would deal with it later. He presented them to Emily, who promptly picked the petals off and showered him with them. He squealed and ran after her, laughing.

"I should've just done that when we first met. Maybe we would've liked each other more." the boy ran up to Scully and hid next to her.

"Don't let her find me!" he exclaimed. He glanced up at Mulder. "By the way, who are you?"

Before he could answer, Emily came and tapped him on the arm. "Boop! I found you!"

"Darn!" he exclaimed. "Your mom was supposed to hide me!"

Scully grinned at her daughter. "She did a good job then." Emily concluded.

"Who's this?" he pointed to Mulder again.

"It's Mulder!" Emily exclaimed. "I told you about Mulder!"

"You told me about your dad, but not Mulder."

"Well, he _is_ my dad. But his real name is Mulder. So I call him both."

"Wow. I'm not allowed to call my parents their real names."

"It's a little bit of a different situation for us, Ben. It's a long story." as she said this, Emily ran off.

"Okay. Well, bye Mulder, I have to go find Emily again so she doesn't steal my spaceship."

"You go do that," he replied. Scully looked at him and shook her head, smiling.

"They're quite the pair already, aren't they?"

"Yeah. But so are we."

"We are." she agreed, their fingers intertwining.

**A/N: Thank you for reading!**

**-Lulamae**


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